The Curse
by Archdruid-Sephiroth
Summary: Post 3I: When the Impact occurred, Shinji allowed the world to be reset. But Pandora's box cannot be closed once it has been opened. Rei's angelic powers awaken traumatically, and she becomes swept up in a resistance that's trying to preserve the very lives the so called normal people take indiscriminately. Rated M for Violence, Blood, Language, and Adult Themes. Yuri warning.
1. Meltdown

_This is our last hope… the first and last time I will be able to help mankind like this. Anyone who can reimagine the boundaries around their heart can return. I will return the world as it was, and those responsible will be made to pay for their transgressions against the divine messengers._

_But this world cannot come about without consequence. Power has been unleashed, and that power will consume the world, or enhance it. It is up to mankind to determine how it will be…_

… _I have little hope they will make the right decision…_

* * *

**Archdruid Sephiroth Presents**

**A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic**

**The Curse**

* * *

**I: Meltdown**

* * *

Isuki Coffee House was a small establishment located on one of Tokyo-3's primary inlets into the city. Well within city limits, it was one of those places everyone saw but only a select group visited frequently. A close knit cliente that included one former half-angel.

It is January of the year 2016, about 5 months after an event no one even realized took place. As Tokyo-3 continued to sweat though its endless summer, the people tried their best to survive. The economy was bad, and birthrates where down, but still the wheels of progress and time continue to turn.

NERV was once a major instigator of economic power in this city, as the city was designed as a safe haven for humans during the Angel Wars. With SEELE exposed for the lie they were, and Gendo dead and gone, the end of the war sounded the death kneel for NERV. For their services, the surviving pilots were given huge pensions, more than enough money that they would never have to work again. However, given the personalities of the EVA pilots, they couldn't stay idle.

One of those pilots was currently a regular patron of Isuki Coffee House. Her name is Rei Ayanami. Once identified as the First Child of NERV, Rei was the key to Gendo's plot to override Third Impact for himself. Now face with the prospect of having to live her life, instead of being allowed to have it end, she decided she would make something of herself.

As she drank her morning cup of coffee she glanced over her Biochemistry project. High School ended up being far too trivial for someone of her intelligence so she graduated while she was still 14 years old. Now a college student at the tender age of 15, she was finally finding coursework that was challenging to her. She wondered if Asuka would have had a similar issue, as she already had college degrees. That musing was the first time she had even thought about the red-head since the angel wars.

As she continued to glance over her work and sip her coffee, she sensed she was being watched. Her eyes left her coursework briefly to gaze around, and was greeted with an unwelcome sight. Dressed sloppily in an office suit and tie, was a rather disheveled looking Japanese man. Rei guessed he was probably in his mid 30's and judging by his unhealthy stare, he was a bit of a lecher. This wasn't something she wanted to deal with, and hope he would restrict his lechery to stares she could mostly ignore.

She wasn't that lucky. He stood up, taking his coffee with him , and approached the table. "Well hello, cutie," he greeted suggestively. "What brings a sweet little thing like you into a coffee shop?" She guess he figured out she was younger than the average patron here and immediately decided she didn't like him.

"Please leave me alone," Rei requested. "I'm busy."

"But I got a proposition for ya," he whispered suggestively.

"I'm not interested," Rei deadpanned.

"Aw, come on, hear me out," he begged.

"I am far too young for you and have better things to do with my time." She tried to remain focused on her work but he wasn't having that. With a click he pushed down the screen of her computer the moment her fingers weren't in the eyes narrowed as she glared at the man.

"I'll make it worth your while," He promised. "Come on,what do you say?" His hand reached out and gently grabbed her shoulder. At that moment, Rei was treated with something she didn't want to remember… She saw herself at age 12, praising her for her ability to concentrate on uploading to the dummy plug system. She could almost hear the word "Yui" on the tip of his tongue as his false sentiment was now painfully clear to her. His hand rested upon her shoulder the same way, and for the first time in her life, Rei freaked out a little.

"Get away from me," Rei hissed and pushed the man back, throwing his hand from her shoulder and rising to her feet away from the computer. By now, other patrons were starting to get uneasy with the situation. Unbeknowst to Rei, the guy she just pushed was a well-known close friend of the mayor of Tokyo-3 so he pretty much got away with whatever he wanted. And with the JSSDF so prevalent lately…

"You dare take that tone with me?" he countered. "You have no idea who you're dealing with." He tried to grab her again.

"Get back!" Rei yelled in her panic and threw her left hand forward with the intention of pushing him away again. This time her hand never physically reached him. As if some unseen force took hold, the man flew back, slamming into the wall behind him with a respectable amount of force. Rei raised her hand slightly and the man slid up the wall, held in place by what appeared to be nothing at all.

Patrons quickly jumped from their seats and moved away from her. They stayed and watched in abject terror as the event unfolded, whispering all the while.

Rei's hand started to close unconsciously, a desire to hurt the man took over in her mind. Immediately he began to gasp for breath, unable to even bring his hands up to try to relieve the pressure. His neck visibly shrunk as if he were being throttled by an invisible attacker. He tried to stammer out a cry for help, but his voice was already weakened and his vocal cords were unable to make any sound.

Finally, reality snapped back into Rei's mind and she realized she was causing real harm to a person in a way that should be impossible for her. She wasn't half-angel anymore as far as she knew, Shinji took care of that. So how was she doing this? Her hand opened and her arm dropped. The man dropped with the motion suddenly able to get air again, but already so robbed of oxygen that he passed out on the floor.

Rei stared at her hands. They were normal in her view but suddenly seemed different to her. She turned them palm down and stared at their contours as if looking for a solution as she turned towards the front of the storefront where a dozen people watched. She didn't pay attention to them, only puzzling over how she was able to assault the man without physical contact. She deiced she would test to see if that was just a fluke or if she was imagining things. Rei made an outwards motion with her hands.

_Move. _

All of the tables and chairs in the area she moved her hands suddenly were pushed back as if an invisible dome of force grew at Rei's location. They slid across the floor with a grating sound as some of these tables were actually quite heavy. Their weight was meaningless as they moved at Rei's will. The sudden display caused the crowd to make some frightened sounds and nearly y spooked them out of the shop, though the remained for the moment.

Now somewhat frightened and confused, Rei continued to stare at her hands. _'Could my angelic side be reawakening? How is that possible? My core should be gone. I am human.' _But as much as she tried to deny what was happening to her, a scratching at her mind told her that it wasn't true. Her angelic side was never gone, just sleeping… until now, in a moment of stress the power reawakened in her… just like…

Rei began to then notice a whisper at the edge of her mind. She tried to concentrate on it and that proved to be her undoing. The voices got louder as her mind and body filled with the terror and fear of the patrons nearby. She gasped as she heard the voices were beginning to overlap due to the sheer number of them. She tried to quiet them by focusing on a single voice, and realized the voice was from a police officer three blocks away. Her eyes widened as she realized that, and she clenched her hands as more voices ended up in her head, many much further away now. Her lack of control only made the cacophony all the louder.

'_This can't be happening to me…'_

Her mind was being flooded with thousands upon thousands of voices, pools of emotion she still didn't have a grasp on assaulted her from every angle. She slowly sunk to her knees as her hands pressed into her temples. Veins became visible on her head as the stress on her mind grew. Finally, she screamed out as the voices broke the walls of her sanity… and it was at that point that all hell broke loose.

Pictures started to fly off the wall as if thrown by invisible vandals. Chairs were thrown into the air with outstanding force, and overhead lights exploded, and books flew from shelves. Finally having enough of the insanity of it all, the crowd ran screaming in terror as they went, and Rei kept on screaming too. The walls of her ego borders were weakening as she suddenly began to imagine she was everyone around her. Terror she never knew seeped into every part of her as her mind was being torn in a million directions. The minds of everyone in the city and beyond were shouting in her head.

Then, without any indication it was happening, there was a glimmer of order amidst the swirling chaos. A singular voice, soothing and soft was signing a gentle lullaby. Rei stopped screaming as she heard it. It wasn't louder than the other voices, but it was the only voice that was specifically directed at her. As her focus upon the tune sharpened, the other voices began to slowly recede into the background. Her eyes finally opened and she saw someone, moving calmly and confidently though the swirling chaos created by her ravaged mind. Tables and chairs were flying around the room now as if caught in a tempest, but none of them were hitting this singular form.

Hikari stopped in front of her and gently kneeled down, now vocalizing the song she was projecting to Rei. Though Hikari had no psychic abilities, she knew from watching Rei that her powers had exploded suddenly. She knew if she focused her thoughts directly at her, she could reach her without needing to be psychic herself, and this was the best hope to calm her mind.

Rei couldn't vocalize, only gasp as she was finally able to breath normally again. Slowly, objects stopped floating and came crashing down to the floor. As if all sound except Hikari's voice had somehow been muted, the crashing down of the objects made nary a sound. The girl focused on Hikari with her eyes and watched as the brown-haired girl leaned closer to her. Gently she took Rei by the shoulders, pulling her into her embrace. Rei let go of her mind and clung desperately to Hikari as she cried for what was only the third time in her life. The pain was gone, the other voices silenced. Hikari was suddenly all that existed in her mind.

Hikari gently rubbed Rei's back as she cried, whispering soothing words and providing comfort only contact with another person could provide. Rei shook in her Hikari's grasp, as the tension was beginning to leave her.

With the immediate concern taken care of, Hikari knew it was only a matter of time before the JSSDF arrived. She shook Rei gently, trying to snap her out of the trance she was putting herself in.

"We can't stay here," she whispered to Rei, but it was too late. Rei was already beyond reason as she desired nothing more than this singular moment. Within a few more such moments, she was unconscious.

Hikari sighed, realizing her direct action was now inevitable. Her face took a serious look as she heard a crunch of glass from behind her. A small team armed in tactical gear was trying quietly to enter the building, thinking they were taking Hikari off guard. They were wrong…

Hikari's eyes flashed over crimson red for a moment as they entered. She gently laid Rei down on the floor and stood up.

"Down on the ground!" yelled one of the men as Hikari turned towards them. "Do it now!"

Hikari's jaw set on determination, she wasn't about to let them take Rei. Her dark Green skirt swished back as her right leg shifted backwards slightly.

"You won't take her," Hikari said with determination. "I'll stop you." Her arms flicked out to her sides and her eyes flash red at the same moment. A pair of wicked looking knives appeared in her hands in reverse grips. The shimmer over the blades was reminiscent of an AT-Field.

"Fuck! She's a Nephilim! Waste her!"

In the split second between the order being given, and the first shot leaving the barrel of their submachine guns, Hikari threw her senses out and did not sense the energy she was looking for. She simply stepped forward in response as the first of the bullets slammed into her AT-Field and disintegrated on impact. This team was not equipped with weapons that could harm her, but she had to be quick. Now that they knew she was a Nephilim it was only a matter of time before a team that was equipped to deal with her would be there.

As she moved forward, she raised a hand up, still gripping her blade and made a wall of asphalt and metal rip out of the ground behind the targets. If she was ever to get out of this without being identified later, she had to make sure there were no witnesses. She had never had to kill before, but this time, there would be no avoid it. The wall slammed forward, knocking down the team and blocking their escape. Hikari lept upon the first target with both her blades and slammed them through the space between the collar bones. His cry of pain caused the rest of his team to panic as they tried to escape through the churning asphalt and steel.

Another opened at point blank with his weapon only kill himself on the ricocheting rounds that cut though his head and face. Hikari began to systematically kill them, one by one, knowing full well any of them would kill her if they had the opportunity.

The massacre was over as quickly as it began. The last man impaled upon a spike of rock and steel. She dismissed her weapons and gathered Rei as fast she could. She escaped out the back and slipped into the old maintenance tunnels under the city. The geofront was inaccessible, but the spaces between the armor layers made for an easy escape.

* * *

**Later**

* * *

Rei began to awaken groggily. At first, she didn't know what happened, but then she started to remember it all in horrifying detail. Her eyes open as the nearby cacophony started up again. She bolted upright pulling her knees into her chest and held her hands over her ears trying to block out the sound. She despirately began screaming for Hikari.

The brown haired girl quickly entered the room and knelt on the bed next to her. Rei clung to the girl's slight frame desperately as Hikari's mind soothed over her chaos again.

"It's okay," Hikari whispered. "You're safe now."

"W-What's happening to me?!" Rei cried.

"You've awakened… You are a Nephilim now," she tried to explain.

"But I was one before," Rei whispered. "Before the Impact."

Hikari's look took a serious turn. "You witnessed the Impact?"

"I was…" Rei stopped, both realizing she had said too much and because she was unable to prevent herself from crying again. "I am supposed to be human! I am…"

"Easy," Hikari whispered as she rubbed her back. "Rei, look at me."

Rei focused on her.

"Good… now imagine the voices you heard before… they're still there yes?"

She nodded.

"Imagine walls building up around you, blocking out the sounds and the emotions. Can you do that?"

"I'll try," Rei whispered between tears. She began to imagine walls like those created by her AT-Field, invisible but nearly impregnable. Slowly the voices began to fade in the background.

Hikari stopped thinking about anything, clearing her mind so Rei had nothing to focus on. Instantly the cacophony tried to reassert itself, but Rei's imagined walls were strengthening, blocking the noise until there was only a din, like whispers in the distance… an ambient psychic noise that was somehow soothing.

Hikari looked towards the opened door as Rei finally started to calm without her help. In the doorway, she saw the person who helped her get over her own awakening. The white-haired, red-eyed boy nodded to Hikari at that moment, and stood away from the door, quietly closing it.

She turned her attention back to the blue haired girl. "Better?" she asked.

Rei nodded. "Thank you… Miss Horaki."

"Please call me Hikari," the thin girl requested. "Miss Horaki makes me sound like I'm back in Junior High."

Rei nodded. "How did you know to do that?"

"I figured it was the best way to get your mind focused on something other than everything at once," she explained. "Sometimes I have a hard enough time just being me, let alone everyone at once. I can't imagine that was at all comfortable."

Rei nodded in agreement. "It was not." She finally took stock of her situation. The room was kind of small, a little cold and messy. There were no visible windows anywhere. "Where are we?"

"Safe," Hikari replied immediately. "That's all you need to know for now."

Rei didn't feel comfortable with that. "What aren't you telling me?"

"A lot. Until you have a full handle on your powers, you're a liability. We have to keep you in the dark until we're certain the barriers in your mind will keep out the JSSDF's Lapdogs."

"I see," Rei replied realizing she was right. Nephilim had a bad reputation in this world now, and if she was going to truly be safe, she had to get a grip on herself. That meant for now, she couldn't know where she was.

"Rei, you said you were a Nephilim before the Impact. How can that be?"

"I am sorry," Rei replied. "I am not supposed to discuss that."

"What harm is there now?" Hikari asked. "The JSSDF is already looking for you. I took care of the witnesses that saw me, but there were quite a few that saw you and could easily identify you. They likely already know who you are and have probably turned your apartment inside out."

Rei frowned. "I see. You know that I was an EVA Pilot correct?"

"Of course we knew that," Hikari replied.

"I was the key to controlling Third Impact."

"I see," Hikari replied. "We'll speak no more of this for now."

"You act like you knew what I was going to say."

Hikari smiled slightly. "All in due time… rest now, you need your strength."

Rei was made to lay back down on the bed. Hikari took a moment to cover her up and tuck her in. "If you need me, I'll be in shouting distance."

"Hikari," Rei whispered getting the girl's attention. The blue haired girl blushed as she whispered, "Thank you."

Hikari smiled softly, and left her to sleep.

As Rei lay there, she remembered the feeling of being held by the thin girl. It was a feeling that was sorely missing from her life. When Hikari had touched her, it just felt right somehow, and she didn't understand why. Perhaps like her newfound powers, the truth will come to her in time…

* * *

_The state of the nation – Violation!_

_A broken promise is as good as a lie_

_The hell is humongous, the devil's among us_

_And we will burn because we won't unite_

_We won't witness anymore freedom_

_Where is anybody? Do we need'em?_

_I would rather fight than let another die_

_We're the problem but we're also the solution_

_WHEN ALL HOPE IS GONE!_

_-Slipknot, All Hope is Gone_


	2. The New War

_Reports of violent activity have continued to rise…_

_Some claimed they were monsters, others claimed they were humans with god-like powers…_

_The enemy was once called, angel… now, it bears a new name…_

_Nephilim…_

* * *

**II: The New War**

* * *

Hikari sighed as she closed the door. She truly hoped Rei would be able to get some sleep after her ordeal. As she turned she saw the boy was still waiting for her.

"How is she?" the white-haired lad asked.

"I really don't know," Hikari replied. "She's holding up okay on the surface, but there is no telling what's happening in her mind right now." Hikari paused as she thought of something. "Kaworu… did you know this was going to happen?"

Kaworu sighed. "I did," he explained. "It was only a matter of time before she awakened. I should have kept closer tabs on her."

"What did she mean by being the 'key to controlling Third Impact'? I get that NERV was just as much involved as the Instrumentality Committee and SEELE but… what role did she play?"

"That's complicated to try to explain," he admitted. "I guess the short version would be that she was the result of one man's ambition and overwhelming desire to be reunited with someone lost."

"That was a bit cryptic," Hikari pointed out.

"I know. I'll explain it greater detail another time. In the meantime, you need to get home. Rei was identified by the JSSDF alright, and thankfully you were successful in keeping your own involvement secret."

Hikari looked down at that moment as she remembered what she had to do to accomplish that.

"You did what had to be done, don't beat yourself up over it. Besides, you know the JSSDF would have gunned you down without a second thought."

"They tried," Hikari admitted.

"See? Humans can't be trusted anymore. Either way, the JSSDF will be looking into all of Rei's former contacts, which would include the entire class of 2-A from Tokyo-3 Junior High. Believe me, they won't let up their search for her."

"I got that impression."

Kaworu nodded. "Then you understand the situation. Get home so you don't raise suspicions. I trust you know how to answer their questions. "

"Of course," Hikari replied. "I'll see you tonight."

"Be careful," Kaworu cautioned. Watching as Hikari left, he came to realize just how dire their situation was becoming. The more the JSSDF look into Rei, the harder they will search for her. He knew if they found out she was the key to Third Impact, they would spare no expense in her capture because they would be absolutely convinced they could undo the damage the world suffered from Third Impact using her to do it.

Of course, they were wrong. But they would try, and they would likely kill her. Then He would come back, angered beyond reason. No one, not even Kaworu wanted that.

* * *

**Jiangsu No-Man's Land, China: 24 Minutes Later**

* * *

A large host of the People's Army of China gathered near the site they believed was the home of a huge nest of Nephilim. They were correct, as the outlying wilds that had become beyond the control of humanity were a safe haven for beings strong enough to survive it. Nephilim certainly fit that description. This expedition was meant to wipe them out. Though they lacked the Anti-Nephilim Ordinance and Ammunition used by the JSSDF specialists, they had mass numbers and a lot of firepower, potentially enough to break the AT-Fields of the Nephilim. Though their intelligence told them that not many could even produce an AT-Field.

Only one Nephilim stood against them, a female clad in red armor that appeared to be a cross between plate and chain. Her full helmet was nearly featureless in the face but winged over both sides of her head, and she held a massive ornate Zweihänder. Two pairs of red wings extended behind her as she floated a few feet off the ground. Her appearance was as awe inspiring as it was a terrible sight for the men. They expected an army of lesser Nephilim to meet them, what they got was a singular elite.

"I give you only one warning," the figure spoke in perfect Mandarin. "Leave now… or be purged in righteous flames."

The response was an artillery salvo. The angelic figure never moved, allowing the missiles and shells to explode harmlessly off of her AT-Field. When the smoke cleared the Nephilim was revealed to be completely unharmed.

"Fools," the figure whispered before her wings lit on fire.

One wing beat and she was propelled into the air like a rocket. Anti-air fire followed her movements but couldn't keep up with her sheer speed. She suddenly dove down and appeared to slam into a tank in the middle of the forward formation. The explosion that happened revealed half of the tank flying off in one direction seeming to have been sliced in half before the explosion. Machineguns opened fire on the flaming wreckage as the Nephilim emerged from the flames. Bullets sparked off of her AT-Field as she propelled herself forward, slashing through men and machines with equal fervor.

Tanks fired, heavy machineguns rocked, and men threw themselves into combat in droves, but the Nephilim was unstoppable. With a wide swipe she cut an entire platoon in half. A massive wing buffet launched many into the air away from her. Before the bodies even hit the ground she flew forward in a flash, slamming her sword into the front section of a tank, killing the driver before unleashing massive gout of flame inside the vehicle, roasting the crew alive.

More men tried to get within range to shoot, only to suddenly find themselves face to face with burning wrath. Men screamed in horrific pain, demoralizing the already shocked infantry. The Nephilim slammed down her sword in an overhead chop, sending a line of flames in a straight line though another tank platoon. Every vehicle struck was split in half and exploded violently.

This was too much. The survivors lost the will to fight and fled before the burning wrath of the Nephilim. Finally, it was over. And the Nephiliim did not pursue the remaining forces. There would be no need. A few would likely make it back to tell the tale, but the rest would be taken by the other monsters that have arisen in these lands, a result of the power of Third Impact unleashed upon the world.

The Nephilim sighed a heavy sigh as she turned back and flew for the Nephilim settlement, arriving in a matter of moments. As she entered the ramshackle village, she was greeted by the rest of the Nephilim as a conquering heroine, though she didn't feel like one at all. Without really acknowledging the crowd, she proceeded to the home she was gifted in the middle of the settlement. She knew there were probably crowds out there hoping she would make an appearance or perhaps say something encouraging, but words were never her strong suit. With the doors closed, her wings retraced into her body and her aura calmed. The armor faded leaving her in light peasant clothing as her long red hair finally came loose. Her eyes shifted back from blood red to bright blue as she sighed, finally fully relaxing.

She sat down on a cushion on the floor before her table, staring at the water pitcher there as if it would soon move on its own. It didn't, but that was expected.

"I've saved the day again," she whispered to herself. "The town of Langxi is safe for another day." She listened to the sounds of children playing, the pounding of the hammers as they reinforced the wall around the village to keep the ascendant monsters at bay. It was still early in the afternoon, and the girl realized she needed to get some sleep before nightfall. None of the other Nephilim in the town have fully awakened yet, and few could control their AT –Fields to any extent, so aside from a few able bodies willing to risk their lives, she alone was the guardian here. She reflected on how she… Asuka Langley Sohryu, ended up becoming the Guardian of a backwater town, west of Shanghai.

She was a model, she remembered. There was a fashion show in Hong Kong, her big international break. Chinese fashion designers would love to see someone like her… half Japanese, half German, and a former Eva pilot to boot. It would be her path to stardom. Then she awakened, in the dressing room. Everyone managed to escape the fire that resulted but Asuka felt guilty about again becoming a danger to people she cared about. The Chinese government had other ideas.

In China, they had a very simple method of dealing with Nephilim… summary execution. Asuka wasn't about to go down without a fight. Two dead platoons later, and her own countries of origin refused to extradite her. She was soon unwelcome everywhere. Her life turned into a nightmare…

Then she found out Nephilim that haven't even awakened yet were being gathered in a location just outside of Hong Kong for extermination. She wasn't about to let that happen, and so she played the heroine. For her trouble she was shot several times with advanced Anti-Nephilim Rounds… rounds that stung like the all too familiar Lance of Longinus.

Asuka cringed as she remembered that day… not the day she was shot, the day she was killed… The vulture like MP EVA's tore her unit to pieces and then impaled her with every lance they had. But even that didn't kill her… she lay within the confines of her plug bleeding from many wounds, turning the orange LCL around her blood red and feeling the burning of the scared metal in her body. And there she stayed until she saw the white angel… Tabris.

It was he who came for her… he who brought her into the Impact, and he who allowed her soul to heal within Instrumentality. He held her bared body in the sea of LCL, quieted her pain, comforted her cries, and for the first time made her feel human. If it were not for that white haired, red eyed saint, she would still be insane with pain and probably less than human. It was the first time she had truly fallen in love with anyone, and she couldn't believe it was with an angel.

"I was trained to hate your kind," she whispered as she walked to her small window. "Trained to kill you… and look at me now. Shinji may have restored the world, but it was I who paid the blood-debt of human kind. And now, we Nephilim continue to suffer. You told me there would be dire consequences… debts paid for crimes we never committed… I should hate you… so why am I in love with you?

"Was it the act of selfless kindness at the end of everything? Did my soul so need a savior that it would have chosen anyone at all and you just happened to answer? Or was this something that was meant to happen? How were you even alive at the end? Shinji killed you and yet… Are you out there still? I wonder…"

Asuka's face fell as tears began to escape her eyes. "Now I've become the very thing I was taught to hate… in love with the very thing I was trained to kill. Tell me Kaworu… Tabris… whoever you are… Is this my penance? Am I now meant to be a warrior praised by the other downtrodden and ostracized? Or is this just one step on a longer path? And if I do find you… will you chase away my nightmares?"

Letting the tears flow free, she pulled another veil over the windows. She needed to sleep before nightfall. She only prayed that her nightmares would let her rest for once…

… These people needed her…

* * *

**Horaki Residence, Tokyo-3: Several Hours Later**

* * *

The interview went as expected. Hikari sighed as she collapsed on her bed and allows herself to relax finally. It was grueling but they left just as empty handed as they arrived. They sent special agents from JSSDF Division-9, a division set up specifically to investigate possible Nephilim.

She looked towards her door seeing Kodama and Nozomi there looking in concerned. They knew her secret, and though Kodama was too old to manifest Nephilim Powers, she knew if she were tested, she would come up positive. Nozomi being so young was likely to develop her own unique talents. And seeing how her older sister was dealing with it made her fearful of the day she became awakened.

"Do you think they'll be back?" Kodama asked as she came in and sat on the edge of the bed. Nozomi circled the other side and got in bed with her sister, curling up into her side. Hikari held her younger sister, knowing how scared she was.

"Maybe," Hikari replied at length. "They won't stop until they find her."

"Kaworu tell you that?"

Hikari didn't answer, but Kodama already could guess.

"Are you gonna go again?" Nozomi asked.

"Yeah," Hikari replied.

"Don't!" Nozomi almost cried as she clung to Hikari.

"I have to," Hikari whispered as she held he sister. "Rei needs me, and so do the rest of our brothers and sisters."

"You're likely to be followed," Kodama pointed out.

"I have ways of disappearing where they can't find me," Hikari mentioned. "I know a few secret access points in buildings I would be hard pressed to be traced in without their people standing out too much." She frowned as she released her younger sister. "I wish Asuka were here. She's a real fighter… I'm so new at this."

"I'm sure she will come home when she can. She's probably laying low in China somewhere."

"I wish she never took that modeling job."

"It's what she wanted," Kodama countered. "You know it might have actually been worse for her if she awakened here in Tokyo-3."

"Maybe…"

"Chin up, it will be okay in the end."

"Okay, Nozomi," Hikari said to get her little sister's attention. "I need you and Kodama to guard the house. You know what to do if the JSSDF decide they want to bring you in."

Nozomi nodded. "Head for the city, find 13187 Takama Street and go to the basement. We can get into the old maintenance passages for NERV though a manhole cover there."

"Good," Hikari commented and gave her younger sister another hug. "Kodama… if it happens…"

"Don't worry… I'll take care of it," she replied.

"You sure you know what to do?"

"Of course."

"Then I leave it to you. I'll try to be back before 10. Any later, and it'll look suspicious."

* * *

**Langxi, China: Sunset**

* * *

Asuka walked out of her house as the sun began to disappear over the hills to the west of town. Her armor was already out as were her wings. Few in this town had ever seen her outside of her powered up state. The civilains, except the ones that were strong enough to help, returned to their homes at her appearance. Windows were covered and doors were latched shut. This was a practiced routine, though Asuka knew that if she and the volunteers failed and the monsters managed to get into the town, the latched doors would not save them.

Asuka lept up onto a platform built into the wall and gazed out over the flat territory. The monsters always attacked form the east, so the rice and vegetable farms were west of town. As the cold night winds began to make themselves known, she wondered what kinds of creatures would show up tonight, and when.

Asuka looked around and saw the fear and anxiety on the faces of those chosen to help defend the town. She promised herself that no matter what came to kill them, it would never be enough.

"No one dies on my watch," she whispered.

* * *

_If you want it come and take it from me  
If you think you can, you still don't know me  
Let me tell you, man, when I said it, I meant it  
and I will always have the right to defend it_

_Fifty seconds, a hundred murders_  
_The bill of rights is a bill of sale_  
_What will you do when the war is over?_  
_What will you do when your system fails!?_


	3. Of Love and Conflict

_12 October 2015: Society officially restarts. There are changes in the world and few have memory how why everything is different._

_15 October 2015: JSSDF troops explore the mountains near Kyoto. Reports of humanoid monsters with multiple limbs came in shortly before the entire team was wiped out to the last man. Their bodies were never found. The last known words of the team were, "Kami help us, they are unstoppable."_

_9 December 2015: JSSDF forces attempt to capture the first known Nephilim for study. They resist arrest. Shots were fired, several JSSDF members were injured, 7 Nephilim were killed. The event becomes referred to by the Nephilim as the Kyoto Massacre._

* * *

**III: Of Love and Conflict**

* * *

Hikari was able to make it back to see Rei without being followed thanks to her knowledge of just how the underworks of Tokyo-3 were laid out. Several of the Nephilim nodded to her as she passed them in the corridors. This was once part of the maintenance network for the armor plates and their internal workings, part of a series of workstations that was meant to house about a hundred or so workers placed in charge of a single armor plate. The workstation since then has been expanded to part of the surrounding tunnels in order to house the over 300 Nephilim in hiding down here.

The main reason these tunnels and workstations were never checked by the JSSDF was because they never knew the tunnels even existed. Most of NERV's files were destroyed during the JSSDF's attack on NERV during Third Impact and the rest were destroyed after the reset when Shinji put the moon back where it belonged. The armor was rebuilt by him based on the memories of those who built it, a gift in reality for the Nephilim he knew would struggle in the time after.

But no one, not even the Nephilim could reach the Geofront itself. No one has seen it since Third Impact, and those few that speak of entering it seem to get cold feet at the idea before the idea even fully forms. Some say that the unspeakable evil that was NERV had become like hell, while others more firmly believe that this is where He resides. The world had abandoned God, but now they refer to Shinji in the same manner, for it was He who gave the world another chance, and it was He that saved them from a fate worse than death.

Hikari knocked lightly on Rei's door, earning a soft reply of, "Enter."

She opened the door and found Rei sitting on the bed wrapped in blankets and still looking very shell-shocked.

"Feeling any better at all?" Hikari asked as she sat down on the edge. To her surprise Rei inched closer to her and leaned on her. The brown-haired girl put an arm around her comfortingly.

"This feels right," Rei whispered, snuggling into the girl.

Hikari blushed, knowing the tone she was taking almost immediately and understanding the gesture. While she wasn't the kind of girl that thought about relationships with her own gender, she would admit to herself that Rei was always a fascinating person. And at least once she had a dream about her and Rei in bed, but she dismissed it as being a product of an overactive imagination.

"Heh… that didn't answer my question," Hikari stammered, though she didn't break her hold on Rei.

"I am better," she replied. "The voices and emotions have been reduced to a din, and they have become comforting to me. Only once was I so connected to mankind, and I forgot what that was like. This… ability of mine reminded me."

"You remember what Third Impact was like?" Hikari asked. It was a legitimate question since virtually no one can fully remember what they experienced during Instrumentality. What little people can remember was left in impressions, fragmented dreams, and distant, rather ghostly emotions.

"I was the focal point of the Impact," Rei replied softly. "I merged with the angel Lilith, one of my mothers, and brought about the end of the world. But He didn't want the world to end."

Despite the revelation of Rei's involvement or the fact that she's truly half angel, Hikari kept holding her.

"He wanted the world to have a second chance, " Rei continued. "And through me, He was given that power. But there were costs. Man rejected God, and so He became our new messiah."

"Shinji," Hikari whispered. "Where is he?"

"You know where He is," Rei replied. "He is where He cannot be reached… where He can watch the world with Lilith."

Hikari's eyes widened a little. If what Rei was saying was true, Lilith was still alive within the Black Moon, and that was were Shinji was. It would explain why the Geofront could not be reached. No man could enter Heaven on their own after all… and Instrumentality could be viewed as mankind's attempt to ascend to it without His permission. But was Rei right, or was this just what she believed?

Hikari figured now was a good time to talk to Tabris but as she let go of Rei and started to get up, Rei immediately dropped her blanket and clung to Hikari. Spare clothing among the Nephilim was a little limited, and Hikari noted with some level of discomfort that Rei had stripped down to sleep. Apparently, Rei had no real sense of shame. Hikari sat back down again, having no real choice.

"Please do not leave me," Rei pleaded. "Shinji could not stay and I am alone. I no longer wish to be alone."

Hikari swallowed as she felt Rei's body pressed against hers awkwardly.

"Rei… you realize we're… we're both…"

"I do not care," she said with finality. "I feel something for you. I do not know what it is, but I can guess as to its nature. And if it is, I will not let that go… It is something I have never had." A tear fell from one of her eyes. "Something that has always been denied to me… something I need now more than I ever had before."

Hikari sighed softly. She realized that Rei was really getting to her, and she couldn't even begin to fathom what the girl's life must have been like. But if she was the focal point of Third Impact then it was obvious to her now from what Tabris said that her life was nowhere near normal.

"At least pull your blanket back up… I promise I won't leave."

Rei let go and pulled the blanket back up over her breasts. Hikari repositioned herself so that Rei could lie next to her, holding her. Hikari put her arms around Rei and allowed the girl to relax on her.

"_I don't know if I can be what she wants," _Hikari thought. _"But I am willing to try. I don't know if I love her for certain, but I care enough about her that I do not want to see her cry."_

It never crossed her mind that Rei still had no control over her powers yet.

"I do not know if I can be what you need," Rei replied to her thoughts. "But just as you are, I am willing to try. I hope you will feel the same for me in time."

Hikari blushed. "Heh… forgot you were psychic for a second."

"I know," Rei replied and leaned up kissing Hikari on the cheek softly before snuggling up to her, earning a blush from the girl. For someone who was so introverted in Junior High, self-expression didn't seem to be a weakpoint for her now. Perhaps being connected to every mind and soul in the world at one point gave her greater insight into humanity than she had before, or perhaps she was simply done being lonely and was now willing to do whatever it takes to end that loneliness.

Rei soon fell asleep, and Hikari stayed with her until 9pm. She managed to get out of the bed without waking up the angel, and stepped out, closing the door silently as she did. When she turned from the door, Kaworu was standing there. Hikari blushed slightly at the look he was giving her.

"So, is there something you want to tell me?" he asked.

Hikari sighed and tried to get her nerves under control. "I think she's in love with me."

"A natural reaction to extreme stress," Kaworu noted. "I've seen it happen in humans before, and we are if nothing else, half human."

"You don't object?" she questioned.

"Why would I?" Kaworu asked. "She's an important figure, but that doesn't mean she can't love who she chooses to love. Are you in love with her as well?"

Hikari blushed. "I… I really don't know," she replied. "I'm not sure if I can be what she wants me to be."

"Do you feel obligated to love her the same way she loves you?"

"No," Hikari replied. "It's not that…"

"Then you feel _something_ for her without obligation to do so," Kaworu concluded.

"I guess…"

"You care about her… that is how it begins. The fact that you saw her first before coming to see me proves you are not being honest to yourself now."

Hikari looked frustrated. "I've never thought of myself as a lesbian. I promised myself I wouldn't have a phase like most girls… and I figured as studious and, well, nerdy as I am, that wouldn't be an issue! But now…"

"There is nothing wrong with it, you know."

Hikari froze when he said those words. She wondered how he could say that with humanity always being so prejudiced against people who loved differently.

"It's true," he explained. "Angels were able to feel universal love, but not individual love. Individual love has and always will be reserved for human kind. We are the best of both worlds, so who is to say we should restrict ourselves? Society? Society is the very thing trying to destroy us now! Why shouldn't we defy their conventions and love who we want to love?"

"Hmm… you have a point."

"I know," he said unabashedly, earning a chuckle from Hikari. "Now, how are things at home?"

"The interview went well. Oddly they were asking more questions about Shinji than Rei."

"Somewhat unexpected. "

Hikari nodded. "Precisely what I thought... so why all of a sudden, with Rei's awakening are they focusing on Shinji?"

"Did they ask you anything about Rei?"

"Just some psyche questions, nothing to do with the incident at all."

"Very odd. I'll see if I can learn anything from my sources. In the meantime, we're closing on 9:30… you need to get home before they start taking a greater interest in you."

Hikari nodded. "Consider me gone. When can I come back?"

"Wait a day."

Hikari looked very disappointed. "Rei is going to think she scared me off."

"Are you worried about what she will think, or are you disappointed you have to wait so long before seeing her again. You disappear for long periods of time every single day and people _will _get suspicious of what it is you're doing with your time. Don't worry about Rei, I will take care of her. She might be very surprised to see me."

"You've met her in person before?" Hikari asked.

"You… can say that," Kaworu replied. "Long story, I'll have to tell you sometime."

"Along with the reason why Rei was created?"

Kaworu frowned. "She tell you that?"

"I put it together based on what she told me. She'd not holding much back from me you know. Eventually, you'll have to stop being so evasive."

"Perhaps sooner than you think. See you in two days."

"Day and a half… tops."

Tabris watched her leave and wondered about the girl she once called friend. He rubbed his eyes and walked into the small office he called his work area. He sat down on the chair there and looked to his corkboard, where a picture hung cut from a Chinese magazine.

It was a picture of Asuka. She was dressed in a beautiful sequined red dress and looked happy. It was taken the night she awakened and killed Chinese soldiers.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to himself. His eyes closed as he remembered he condition when he found her…

* * *

_Her body was already dead when he arrived, but her soul was still animate within the plug and still suffering from untold pain. He carefully lifted her from the seat earning a shriek of pain. When her eyes opened she saw she was no longer in EVA 02's Entry Plug but rather floating in an endless sea of light and color. She looked at herself… she was naked and bleeding from 9 huge impalement wounds. Then she noticed him… the white haired red eyed angel._

_Tabris hand come to her… the angel that befriended Shinji and then forced the fragile pilot to kill him. His hand covered a wound and she felt it burn as he touched it. They weren't physical injuries, but rather metaphysical; representations of her shattered psyche made manifest. She realized he was naked too, but somehow it felt natural here. She felt no shame at having him touch her bared body, just watched as he worked; comforting her cries each in turn and closing each wound as he touched them. She looked at her arm and saw it was split up the middle with a nasty scar, but this was slowly starting to close up as Tabris continued to work._

"_Why?" It was the only word she could say._

"_You have suffered more than any before you," he had said to her. "An angel of your intensity should not be made to suffer like this."_

"_I should hate you," she whispered to him._

"_I know."_

"_I can't…" As the last wound closed she curled into him wanting to be held, comforted… she didn't know where she was, or if Shinji was out there somewhere… but this boy, this angel was there to soothe her in her darkest moment… a moment that was supposed to be her greatest triumph…_

_She cried… salty tears mixing with the LCL, breaking off in a glittering stream as her jaw trembled. He stroked her hair, whispered comforting words. His face changed as she looked up at him. She felt the countless voices around her fall into a din and Tabris at that moment discovered something…_

_Individual love…_

_He touched her chest over her heart and she watched as his hand phased into her body. She gasped as the feeling reached her core. Their souls were beginning to entwine…_

* * *

"I really didn't know why I did that," he whispered to no one. "But I know now. It's the same reason Hikari can't reject Rei, and the same reason I think of you as much as I do. Instrumentality taught me individual love… And I never had the chance to explore that with you."

He frowned as he ran his hand down the image in the cut out. "Wherever you are… I hope you're safe."

* * *

**Langxi, China: That Moment**

* * *

Asuka opened her eyes… her mind kept returning to the face of Tabris… the eternal smile that helped her feel human again… It was truly one of the few things that kept her sane. She caught movement on the horizon. She hoped it wouldn't be what she thought it was… as it happened, it wasn't.

A lesser Behemoth was foraging too close to the city. The creature was about the size of a semi-truck and powerfully built. It resembled a cat in some ways, but was stockier with massive claws that could probably rend one of the smaller dwellings in the town in half with one swipe… and this was one of the smaller ones. Unfortunately, it was far too close to the town. It would smell the Nephilim soon and that would attract it. Asuka stood up and walked to the edge of the platform and looked over the wall to the target which was about three-quarters of a mile away. She summoned her sword and ignited it. Her wings lit and she took to the air.

The fiery streak caught the monster's attention and it prepared for her. As she flew in for the killing blow it swiped with the back of its paw and managed to time its attack perfectly. 450 yards later she slammed into the ground and dug out at trench nearly 50 yards long. She was stunned but was quickly trying to recover enough to move since she felt the ground shaking at the monster's approach. Asuka barely manged to get out of the trench before the claw came down and made the hole she was in three times deeper. Holding her sword at the ready the monster continued its assault.

Asuka dodged quickly, left and right, appearing to slide quickly from side to side as the monster tried to smash her with its massive paws. Asuka tried to flank and was nailed with the creature's massive tail. Quickly recovering, she launched into a direct assault and managed to slash a chunk out of the monster's face. It roared in pain and backed away from Asuka.

"I don't want to kill you," Asuka whispered. "But I know how Behemoths are. If I let you go, you will be back when you're even bigger."

In response the monster charged her full speed. Asuka dodged under the chomping jaws in her forward flight and rolled enough to slash deep into the monster's chest. As she flew past it, the monster reared up on its hind legs and roared in pain. It stumbled back as its blood poured from the deep wound Asuka inflicted. With sadness, Asuka watched as the monster fell backwards and struggled to stay alive. She flew over to the monster and thrust her sword in between the monster's eyes, finally ending its suffering. Igniting her wings again she started to conjure flames. She knew it would take time, but she had to make sure the body was completely incinerated; otherwise it would bring disease to the town and more monsters to the area looking for food.

Unbeknownst to her, miles away a monster was watching her work. Its body was humanoid but well over nine feet tall. It had four arms and another torso growing out of its back with a head and a pair of arms of its own. The second head faced away and simply waited as if its mind was only reactionary.

The main head was set to anger. There was a perfect settlement full of juicy morsels, but that Nephilim was powerful. Soon though, it would have a large enough host of its own kind to destroy the settlement and kill the Nephilim. Then he would feast upon her core and her power of fire would be his.

Once Asuka completed destroying the body, she flew back to town and retook her position on the platform. Daybreak was still many hours away…

* * *

_We have made the present obsolete_

_What do you want?_

_What do you need?_

_We'll find a way,_

_When all hope is gone!_

_We've seen the fall of the elite,_

_Bury your life, take your disease_

_We'll end the world,_

_When all hope is gone!_


	4. Complications and Loyalties

_21 October 2015: Reports of monster attacks are on the rise. Most major cities begin building defensive perimeters around their borders._

_3 November 2015: First known Nephilim awakens in Tokyo-3. JSSDF forces try to capture him but were unsuccessful. Press reports spin the Nephilim as "just another monster"._

_7 November 2015: Western Civilization begins to fall apart again as the city of Berlin is overrun by monsters and what appears to be demons._

_10 December 2015: Nephilim begin to gather in downtown Kyoto. JSSDF forces move to meet them. The battle that erupts takes many lives and forever sullies the image of the Nephilim. Downtown Kyoto is evacuated._

* * *

**IV: Complications and Loyalties**

* * *

**Several Hours Ago**

* * *

Even as Hikari made it home, she still couldn't keep Rei out of her thoughts. Was she still okay? Why did Kaworu make it sound like a big deal that he was going to reveal himself to Rei. It didn't make much sense to her.

Hikari put her key in the lock and turned it only to find the door was not locked.

"Nozomi," she grumbled under her breath. "Left the damn door unlocked again." She walked in and saw someone sitting in the darkness, but they didn't look like one of her sisters, or her father for that matter.

"Who's there?" she demanded. The light turned on revealing a rather thin man wearing a suit and tie. His hair was long and tied back and he was clean shaven. The hair was black, almost so dark looking that it threatened to absorb the light around it. His piercing blue eyes, reminiscent of ice, stared at her and a cruel smile came over his face. He appeared to be Eastern European.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said in almost regal voice. "My name is Bastion Kane, I'm one of the higher ranking member s of the JSSDF's Division-9. Perhaps you've heard of me."

Hikari's heart froze in her chest. One of the most dangerous men alive to her kind was in her living room with his hands together in front of him, held together in a formation similar to the late commander of NERV. She knew two things immediately; she was in danger, and that her sisters were in danger.

"Where are my sisters?" she demanded.

"That's quite amusing, Miss Horaki… I was hoping you could tell me that."

Hikari stepped forward and was about to speak when she felt something prick her in the neck. She gasped as she felt a cold sensation run though her veins.

'_Of course,' _she mused as the sedative took effect. _'The bastard didn't come here alone…'_

She collapsed to the floor within seconds. One of the men walked over to her and put a scanning device on her exposed forearm which extracted a few drops of her blood. The machine made a noise and the man with the device nodded to Bastion.

"I need your sisters, Miss Horaki," he continued as if she were still awake. He stood up and walked over to her crumpled form, kneeling down next to her and running his fingers though her hair. The wicked smile on his face only broadened. "But you'll do for now."

* * *

**Langxi, China: Now**

* * *

Asuka stood upon the platform on the walls of Langxi keeping her eyes opened for anything. The smoldering carcass of the Behemoth from earlier in the evening was now little more than a pile of ashes.

"You're German, right?" came a question from one of the men assigned to help her guard the wall.

Asuka looked over and saw it was Dequan, one of the younger men. His awakening had already happened but he got little out of it save for the ability to partially control his AT Field. This alone was enough for the Chinese Government to condemn him to die.

"Yes," Asuka replied. "Half. I'm also half Japanese."

"How is it you've come to speak Mandarin?" he asked inquisitively.

Asuka chuckled. "Part of my awakening I guess."

"Oh? How many languages do you speak?"

Asuka smiled at him before returning her gaze out to the east. "All of them."

"Movement!" yelled one of the other men just north of her location. Her eyes strained to see what was out there and finally noticed the movement herself. Something was moving across the wastes… a lot of something. They seemed humanoid and yet they were shaped oddly.

"No," Asuka whispered as she realized what they likely were. "A host this big may be too much to keep at bay."

"What do you see?" Dequan asked her.

"Makhai," she replied in an ominous tone.

At the head of the host, the leader stood up to his full height of over nine feet. He pointed with one of his swords towards the town and roared. His skin was almost bronze and his face was mostly humanoid. His eyes however, told the tale of his lack of humanity, baring no pupils or cornea at all, just pale white orbs in his head. A second set of arms also armed with sword were under the first set, and about halfway up his spine, another upper torso could be seen, eternally facing backwards with a pair of sword equipped arms of its own.

All around the leader, a host of similar creatures made their way towards the town, each over six feet tall at the shortest and over eight feet at the tallest. Their skin was darker than the leader's and their minds were a little simpler. They had no head for strategy like the leader did, but they were obedient.

"Break out the pikes!" Asuka ordered and her men quickly responded, dropping their swords and retrieving the long spears that leaned against the walls. "Our only hope is to keep them at bay. They close within range of their swords and it's going to get very ugly."

The men obeyed, quickly dropping the swords they carried and getting the pikes that lay against the wall. Asuka glared out at the leader. She knew Makhai were normally stupid brutes, and only the smartest of the group can lead them. In this case, the leader stood out pretty well against the backdrop of other lesser monsters. But even if they were lesser, Asuka would rather deal with a dozen full sized behemoths than this large a host of Makhai.

One more roar from the leader and the army of monsters charged the walls. Asuka counted at least 300 of them, more than enough to roll over the town. That's when she got an idea. She can keep all but the bravest out of town if she gives them something to fear. With a mighty wing beat she was airborne, flying up and to the south of the advancing force. Once she got enough speed she dove from the clouds in a line parallel to the forward attacking ranks and unleashed her fiery potential on the ground before them. The result was a huge wall of fire that quickly froze their forward advance.

Asuka continued, laying down a wall of fire around the entire village before flying up to see the results of her labor. The leader muscled though the wall of flames inspiring others to try. The weaker Makhai perished in the nine foot wide wall, but the braver and more resilient ones made it though and rolled on the ground to put out the flames.

Immediately, townsfolk that were versed in the use of bows launched a volley into the attacking host on both sides of the flaming wall. The monsters that wouldn't dare cross the fiery wall were quickly overwhelmed by the volley, and those that weren't killed by the arrows quickly escaped into the night. This left the leader with a mere 112 Makhai warriors, less than half of his overwhelming host. But with a wall of flames behind him, his only choice was to press forward and he grimly ordered the charge.

The Makhai threw themselves into combat, weapons raised. The wall guardians raised their spears impaling the first to attempt to make it to the wall, but others were already pulling themselves over. Some of the warriors went in with their spears hoping to push them back, but a monster with four sword arms in the front could easily make a mockery of their attempts. An apparent overextension seemed to give the villager a chance but he was quickly knocked back by the second torso's blades. The monsters quickly became roaming chaos as they could easily attack enemies approaching from any direction, and the two brains although simple were able to coordinate their attacks so they never tripped themselves up.

Asuka dove down with her sword blazing, killing any Makhai still trying to get into the village. She was suddenly jumped by the leader. A massive slam with her wing threw him back and she faced him with her flaming sword.

"Your power will be mine, Angel of Fire," the monster roared at her, and Asuka was shocked to hear it. These monsters have never shown the ability to articulate speech effectively, let alone roar out threats or show any real cognition for that matter.

"You can talk," she noted.

"I have devoured the cores of many Nephilim. I will claim your power as my own!"

"Impossible. Only a Nephilim can claim the power of another Nephilim by absorbing their core. What you seek is impossible." At that moment she felt her AT Field being eroded by the monster and her heart beat faster, realizing maybe she was wrong about that.

"So certain are you? I will show you true power!" He slammed his right foot down hard causing the ground to shake and crack around the impact point. Asuka's eyes were wreathed in flame as she stared at the monster, seeing that he already had 7 cores inside of him. They weren't fusing together but somehow his body was able to access at least some of the power they offered. This meant that this monster represented the single most powerful Makhai on the planet… potentially. The thought did occur that other Makhai could do the same, which was not a comforting thought.

Asuka's wings lit up. "Very well, monster," she conceded. "If you wish to throw your uniqueness to the wind fighting a superior opponent, then so be it. But first thing's first." She slammed her sword into the ground suddenly summoning a wall of white flames around the town. Though this took a lot of energy, it would prevent anymore Makhai from entering the town.

The monster growled in annoyance and charged her. Asuka quickly ripped her sword out of the ground and blocked the sudden offensive. Though the monster had 6 blades to his credit, Asuka was much faster allowing her to block the attacks with her single massive Zweihänder. The monster's movements were fast in their own right. With supposed overextensions meant only to bring the secondary monster's weapons to bear as well. Asuka floated back and flanked when she could, keeping up the assault and trying to find a weak point in the monster's defenses, but the sheer number of blades being brought against her was a match for her own speed.

The few Makhai that enter the town were suddenly finding they were becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of defenders. 300 Makhai and only 3 had managed to enter the town itself, and they were now being effectively stabbed to death by a host of spear wielding commoners, most of which had no real powers.

Asuka and the Makhai locked their weapons briefly and Asuka flew back as quickly as she could but managed to take a nasty wound across the stomach for her attempt. It cut though her armor easily and dug deep into her flesh. Immediately the wound started dripping vile puss and corruption.

"Forgot to mention, I lick my blades," the monster triumphantly jeered. "You'll be too sick to fight soon, and then you'll be mine."

Asuka realized she was in trouble. She couldn't cauterize the wound since she was immune to fire completely due to her nature. That meant that the corruption would start running rampant though her body. She could increase her own body temperature to try to slow it down, but the damage was already done. Her only chance was to defeat the monster before she succumbed to the corruption.

"I'm not done yet," Asuka replied as she launched herself forward with a renewed determination. The monster fended her off trying to keep her out of strike range until the corruption could weaken her enough to finish her off, but Asuka in her rage was twice as dangerous, and twice as fast. After a brief struggle to keep up he finally lost the engagement as she managed an upward swing that cut him from the right side of his lower abdomen to his upper left shoulder, just deep enough to put him in intense pain. He bounced backwards, cradling the wound with two hands that had no choice but to drop their weapons.

Asuka tried to press forward but sudden felt herself beginning to retch. Her helmet disappeared and she fell to her knees, throwing up a green puss-like fluid.

The monster tried to step forward and was shot nearly half a dozen times with arrows. Realizing he couldn't collect his prize he finally sounded the retreat and ran back through the still smoldering first wall of fire. Only a handful of Makhai survived the attack, and he knew he would have a nearly impossible time gathering another host like that considering the casualties in this engagement. His chance had been completely lost. He knew she would never survive the night.

The remaining fires died out and Daquan ran to her side.

"Asuka!" he called out. "Stay with us, please."

Asuka coughed up more green stuff and finally spoke. "I'm infected with some kind of corruption. It's tearing my insides apart."

"Just hang on," he asserted and began to drag her back into town. Her armor faded away leaving her in normal clothing, and the extent of her wound was now clearly visible. It almost cut through to the abdominal cavity, and the flesh at the edges almost looked as if it were going necrotic. It certainly smelled that way.

Daquan got her into a bed and several of the townsfolk helped out, gathering bandages and clean water. Her eyes opened a bit and she stared at the ceiling.

"You'll be okay," Daquan told her. "You have to be."

Asuka could only nod, but deep inside she knew the truth… she was dying.

"_So this is how it ends…"_

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Underground, 30 minutes ago**

* * *

Rei sat up in bed and began dressing herself. It wasn't much, just a pair of jogging pants, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt, but it beat being in this cold underground bunched under covers, wearing only a pair of panties. She stood up, using her hands to push up her breasts, lamenting how she doesn't have a bra. She really wanted to know what happened to the clothing she was wearing before.

A knock at her door roused her out of her thoughts.

"Come in," she called out. The last person she expected to see walked into the room. "Tabris?"

"I go by Kaworu now," he replied. "But yes, daughter of Lilith, it is I."

"Kaworu," she corrected herself. "I have not seen you since Third Impact."

"I know, I thought it would be best if we didn't have any contact with each other, at least a first. However inevitability it seems can be quite persistent in that regard."

"You are leading the refugees?" she asked.

"Yes. I am trying to guide them into the future that He wanted for them."

Rei frowned. "The humans have been nothing but cruel to us… why?"

"You know the answer to that," Tabris pointed out. "The humans fear what they cannot comprehend. They fear our power, our abilities, and our seemingly lack of mortality. We are close to the Angels who once nearly destroyed their world. They will never accept us."

"So what must we do?"

"I wish them no ill will, but there are some of our kind that do."

"Jackals," Rei pointed out.

"Yes… the Jackals…"

Rei suddenly grabbed her head. She barely managed to hear Tabris asking her what's wrong and even less so felt his hands on her as _her surroundings changed to the inside of a hut in a poor area of what she figured was China. She saw people mourning someone in a bed and heard some whisper that Langxi was doomed if she died. Rei walked closer to the bed and smelled rotting flesh. Resisting the urge to puke, she pressed closer and saw Asuka lying in the bed with a wet rag on her forehead. She was dressed like a Chinese peasant and had a nasty wound on her stomach that started to expose her internal organs, all of which were visibly going necrotic. Rei tried to back away from the bed and Asuka's hand grasped her arm. The psychic gasped as Asuka's eyes stared at her with no cornea and no pupils, just green tinged orbs in her head. She said two words that sounded wet as puss gurgled from her mouth._

"… _help… me…"_

With a loud gasp Rei finally broke from the vision. She found that she was in the bed now with Kaworu standing over her.

"What is it?" Kaworu asked, knowing she had some kind of psychic episode.

"Asuka," Rei managed to get out, noting his reaction to the name. "She's hurt badly. She won't survive the night."

"What happened to her?!" he demanded. "Where is she?!"

Rei's eyes unfocused a moment before she answered. "Langxi, China… a Nephilim village. I think its west of Shanghai."

"I have to get to her," Kaworu replied.

At that moment, two of his men entered the room.

"Don't you knock?" Rei asked annoyed.

"Kaworu," they began, ignoring her. "We have a problem. Kodama and Nozomi Horkai are here, but Hikari has become a guest of Division-9. Bastion Kane got to her."

"No," Kaworu replied. "I can't be in two places at once. But if we leave Hikari in Kane's hands, he might be able to break her and get her to tell him about the underground. We're all in danger!"

"I'll rescue Hikari," Rei offered.

"Are you mad?" he asked her. "You barely have a handle on your own powers and you're willing to go into the lion's den?"

"I don't know what I am to Hikari," Rei started. "All I know is that she's become the most important thing in my life. The thought of losing her is too much for me to bare now. I have to try. And I know Asuka means as much to you."

Kaworu looked down. "Fine but you're not doing it alone."

"I am Lilith's Avatar," Rei asserted. "I _will_ go alone. I will not be responsible for the deaths of more of our siblings."

Tabris looked skeptical.

"The can never catch me. And even if they could, they could never hold me. I am beyond them."

"Good luck then," Kaworu finally relented. "I have to get to Langxi."

"Yes you do."

* * *

**The Black Moon**

* * *

"_**She is beginning to believe in herself…"**_

"Yes, she is… she is my sister after all."

"_**My Avatar… I have given her great gifts… but will she learn how to use them in time?"**_

"For Hikari's sake, she will."

* * *

_The wretched are the wounded,  
The hungry starve to death,  
In a place where no one goes,  
The air itself is a final breath,  
So discontinue, the anti-septic, care charade,  
As a cry of justice comes,  
A malignant fire fades_

_I am the reason your future suffers,_  
_I am the hatred you won't embrace_  
_I am the worm of a pure gestation,_  
_I am the remedy, spit in my face_  
_All your laws and rules are outdated,_  
_All your subjects are killing the kings,_  
_I can rattle off a million other reasons why,_  
_But does it matter when the only thing we love will die?_


	5. Awaken

_Cursed be the ground… for our sake…_

_Both thorns and thistles it shall spring forth for us…_

_For from the ground we were taken for the dust we are…_

_And to the dust we shall return…_

* * *

**V: Awaken**

* * *

Division-9 Headquarters was a large building sitting on the north edge of Tokyo-3. It was almost its own private city completely with labs, training centers, and living quarters. So when Rei managed to locate a way into the building though the sewer system that wasn't guarded, she immediately raised a flag in her mind. This was already too easy.

But Rei had no idea if they knew anything about her, or why they took Hikari alive. As far as she knew, Divison-9 wasn't in the market for prisoners…

And then she entered the labs and the true horror of Divison-9 became clearer to her. There were Nephilim in stasis, floating in cylinders of what could only be LCL. But where did they get the precious fluid from? They didn't have access to what used to be Terminal Dogma. Could it have been excess NERV stores that were off site? But why would NERV store such an important liquid off site?

On a large computer board nearby, she saw a cutaway diagram of an Angelic Core. They mapped out much of what was on the inside of the core. Diagrams of DNA and important gene pairs were highlighted. Tables looked clean in the lab area but they were showing signs of being stained with red blood.

"They're dissecting us," Rei whispered, realizing the full scope of what it was Divison-9 was all about. They were trying to figure out what made Nephilim so different, so they can kill them more efficiently. The Anti-Nephilim weaponry they developed must have already existed in some form, which meant that the LCL came from what was left of SEELE, not NERV.

_Sacrilege…_

She pressed forward, deeper into the lab and came into a circular room with an exposed upper floor. A metal cylinder was in the middle of the room with a computer connected to it. On it, the screen showed vital signs for the occupant. Rei stood in front it the diabolical machine and hit the button to remove the outer metal shield from the cylinder. The metal shield rose revealing her goal.

Hikari floated in the cylinder's center completely naked. Her body was pierced in several places by long needless hooked up to tubes that were slowly extracting fluids from her body. She was asleep but the twitching of her eyes told Rei she was in pain.

Rei quickly looked over the control panel looking for a method to release her from this torture device and then she heard the sounds of men running; she turned in time to see the room was nearly ringed with Divison-9 men in tactical gear leveling assault rifles at her. Though the doors, Bastion entered the room. His piercing blue eyes appeared to be alight with amusement.

"I didn't think you would be this bold," he began. "But it was quite foolish of you to come here… Lilith."

Rei's eyes widened.

* * *

**Langxi, China**

* * *

The people of the small town of Langxi looked up and saw a white streak across the sky. It changed direction and flew straight down towards the middle of town causing townsfolk to scatter away from the area. With a small shudder the earth greeted its visitor.

Kaworu was kneeling at the impact point with a single fist on the ground. His 4 wings slicked back, but now recovering. He stood up and his wings began to retract into his back. He was wearing a pair of dark slacks, black shoes and a white short-sleeved shirt with two long slits on the back for his wings.

"I'm looking for Asuka," he stated in perfect Mandarin.

"Here!" one of the townsfolk called out. "I'm her friend, Daquan. She's in here."

Kaworu walked in and immediately smelled rotting flesh. Asuka looked horrible; her skin was mostly greenish with darker blotches near her stomach wound, her eyes were yellowing and the wound appeared to be necrotizing. Already maggots were starting to fester in the wound.

"We left the maggots there to try to clear the dead flesh," Daquan explained.

"It won't help," Kaworu replied. "This is no earthly corruption."

Asuka tried to speak but was unable to do even that.

"Hush now," he spoke as she kneeled next to her bed. "Everything is going to be alright." He gently kissed her forehead and placed his left hand onto it. He then held his right hand over the festering wound. Shrieking sounds were uttered from the maggots as they suddenly dried up and disintegrated. The act of feasting on the corrupted flesh effectively demonized them making the purifying energy he released akin to pouring salt on a slug. Daquan looked visibly sickened by the event.

"This is going to take some time to heal," Kaworu explained. "The corruption is throughout her body, but I can stop it from growing stronger. Then I can start healing the damage and purifying her body."

A white glow appeared around his hand as a mist like energy seemed to slowly fall from the opened hand into the wound. Once the connection was made, the energy flowed much faster and Asuka gasped at the feeling.

"It's okay," Kaworu whispered. "Just be calm and still."

"T... Tab…ris…" Asuka whispered.

"Are you still calling me that?" he whispered with an amused smile. "I thought I told you that wasn't who I am anymore."

"I… know…" she replied. "But… you will… always be… my… angel…"

Kaworu gently kissed her on the lips, feeling the corruption in her body burning away at his touch.

"Rest now," he whispered, and he watched as Asuka finally fell asleep.

"What if the Makhai come back?"

Kaworu's face set on determination. "They will not make it into this village alive."

* * *

**Division-9, Tokyo-3**

* * *

"I am not Lilith," Rei refuted. "I am I."

"Oh but you are wrong, Lilith… you are so much more than that. You are a goddess compared to the other Nephilim. A goddess that can take us from this wretched hole and into the promised land… or show us the door and let us walk through ourselves.

"I see," Rei replied. "So I was correct… you are remnants of SEELE."

Bastions's face looked a little shocked. "My, my… what gave it away I wonder?"

"Release Hikari to me," Rei demanded.

"You are in no position to make threats o Mother of Nephilim. You must surrender to us. You are surrounded, and our weapons are designed to work against your kind."

"And you won't use them… you need me alive."

Bastion growled in annoyance. "Take her." He ordered.

The men lowered their weapons, letting a group of men in with shock gloves instead. Rei took a combat stance as they approached, and as the first tried to lunge at her, she swept his legs knocking him to the ground. What took place next was worthy of the best martial arts movies as Rei became a whirling fury, easily dodging and countering attempted blows. The men seemed to slow down to her, allowing her to predict their movements with little difficulty. Bastion's men fought hard but they simply were not skilled enough to deal with someone able to accurately and rapidly counter their every attempt.

"Enough! Take her down!"

The men on the upper floors raised their rifles and fired. Rei threw her hands up stopping all of the tranquilizer darts they fired in midair. She noted they were all composed in the same metal used in the Proxy Lances.

"That's impossible!" Bastion yelled. "They're crafted of f-LS! You can't manipulate them with your powers."

"If I am truly Lilith made flesh, then nothing is impossible for me, Bastion." She countered and with a wave of her hand sent the darts back to their senders, knocking out the entire group in the process. "When Lilith was run though with Lancea Longini, it was only because she allowed herself to be impaled… She _chose_ that path."

"Shoot her!" Bastion yelled, but it was already too late. With a hand motion all the men were thrown to the ground with a telekinetic wave. Rei raised her hands causing the metal plates to rip from the floor and curve towards the men, pinning them down.

Such an exertion of her power awakened something within her, and Rei's back began to hurt terribly. Muscles along her upper spine twitched and pulsed. Her arms crossed over her chest as she cried out in obvious pain. Kane watched from between metal plates he was pinned under.

Rei was almost driven to her knees from the sudden pain. With a final agonizing cry a sound like wet cloth torn by a machine was heard and the cylinder and walls behind Rei were sprayed with blue blood. Rei's azure wings sprung into life.

She took a moment to recover as her large wings stretched out and she felt her back sealing. The tips of her wings stretched nearly 9' in both directions.

"Angel," Bastion said accusingly.

"So it would seem," Rei replied. "But I have no time to ponder the meaning of this now." She turned towards the cylinder and used her telekinesis to rip open the plastic casing. LCL flooded the room and Hikari came loose from her tubes, sliding into Rei's arms.

"We'll never stop hunting you," Bastion taunted. "No matter what it takes we'll capture you and the Horaki's."

"Why do you want them so bad?" Rei countered.

"Why indeed," Kane taunted again. "My reinforcements are close, and I guarantee in your current state they will overwhelm you, Avatar or no."

Rei realized he was likely correct in his assessment. Cradling Hikari she shot up towards the roof, angling her AT Field ahead of her like a plow. She tore through 2 floors before she escaped the building. Her wings extended and in moments, she was already long gone.

* * *

**Langxi, China – Hours Later**

* * *

Kaworu was now sitting against the wall with his legs hanging off of the bed. Asuka's head rested in his lap. He was tired, but he had made a lot of progress. Asuka looked less green, no longer had necrotic flesh, and her wound was about half closed now. The corruption in her blood had calmed though it was still there, it simply wasn't spreading anymore.

Kaworu was tired… He had spent much of his energy reserves trying to save Asuka's life. Slowly drifting off, he was suddenly awakened by Asuka moving her head.

He looked down upon her angelic face and watched her eyes open. They were far less yellow then they had been.

"T… abris… Is it really… you?" her pained voice whispered

"You know it is," he replied. "I told you I would take care of you."

"You did," she whispered. "Now… now I can rest…" A soft smile painted her face as she passed out again.

Kaworu sighed. Her recovery would take a few days, but he knew he had to stay with her. It was she who taught him the virtues of individual love… and he would never abandon her.

"My angel…"

* * *

_We have made the present obsolete  
What do you want?  
What do you need?  
We'll find a way,  
When all hope is gone!_

_We've seen the fall of the elite,_  
_Bury your life, take your disease_  
_We'll end the world,_  
_When all hope is gone!_


	6. The White Angel and the Red Devil

_I was so happy when I managed to get Hikari back home. Kodama and Nozomi were also very happy with the way things turned out. I chose not to mention the incident in Divison-9, and I also said nothing about the blue fluid on the torn shirt. When I cut myself in the bathroom later, I saw my blood was in fact blue…_

_What have I become? Am I an angel? Am I really the avatar of Lilith?_

_Hikari still hasn't woken up yet, and it's been 2 days since I rescued her. I sense she is okay, but I don't understand why she hasn't come back to me yet. Her sisters are starting to get worried too._

_Kaworu isn't back yet… I wonder if he's okay._

_-From Rei Ayanami's Diary_

* * *

**VI: The White Angel and The Red Devil**

* * *

**Langxi, China – 2 Days Later**

* * *

Asuka's eyes slowly opened. She felt dry and tried to open her mouth only to feel her throat seize a bit. A sound came from her and she felt herself being sat up gently. Without really knowing her surroundings, she knew it was Kaworu that was helping her. Her mouth opened a little and she felt the lip of a clay cup placed there. Carefully she took in some of the cool water and swallowed, instantly feeling her throat begin to relax. The cool water felt as if it were being absorbed by her esophagus as it traveled down on its trip to her stomach.

She blinked, and her sight started to become less blurred. The fuzzy and indistinct objects became clearer and she focused on Kaworu's face. Smiling gently, her eyes closed again as she was let back down to the bed. Sound returned to her world next and she heard the familiar rhythm of life in Langxi; the hammering on the outer walls for repairs, the children playing, and the movement of people to and fro.

"How do you feel?" Kaworu asked her.

"I've had better days," Asuka admitted in a low voice. "How did you find me?"

"Rei," he replied. "She's awakened."

Asuka frowned at that. "And here I was hoping she would have a normal life. I went pretty hard on her during the war…"

"Her destiny is not for us to decide," Kaworu pointed out.

"No… it isn't." She sighed in resignation. "And I doubt Lilith will ever let her go."

Kaworu sighed as she stood up. Asuka shifted a little so she can continue to watch him.

"I wonder how Shinji is," Kaworu mused. "He's inside the Black Moon with Lilith now… He's for all intents and purposes the new god."

"Baka," Asuka whispered. "Wonderful Shinji… Fate has given him such a cruel hand it seems."

"He wanted the world to have a second chance… and this is what happened."

"Humanity will never accept what it can't understand," Asuka noted.

"Humanity is a lost cause," Kaworu noted with obvious aggression in his voice.

"And what of the Jackals?" Asuka noted. "Humanity is destroying itself, this is true. But do we not have the same problem amongst our own people? We are not so different in the end."

"We're _nothing _like them!" Kaworu snapped causing Asuka to flinch. He looked remorseful for his sudden outburst and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to–"

"What's happened to you?" Asuka asked, cutting him off. "Why do you hate humans so much now? You used to admire them."

Kaworu sighed as he leaned back a bit. "I guess… they just pushed our people too far. They started the war, they wanted to kill us off because they don't understand us. They think we're the enemy!"

"Can you really blame them?" Asuka pointed out. "We Nephilim have the power of the angels at our finger tips. When our powers awaken they often do so violently, and people can get hurt in the process. Not only that but some of us also become Jackals, and begin preying upon our own kind. I think humanity has a right to be afraid of us. I don't agree with the way they handled it, but that is human nature. You of all people should know that." She frowned slightly. "_Mien Gott, _when did _I _become the voice of reason between the two of us?"

Kaworu sighed as she pushed herself back towards the head of the bed a little, sitting up straight. "You are right of course," he admitted. "This is how I should have expected them to react… but they hurt you."

Asuka looked at him with a sad expression.

"You awakened on the moment of your greatest personal achievement, and they tried to kill you for being different… _you_."

"Playing favorites?" Asuka mused.

Kaworu frowned. "When we were in instrumentality…"

He stopped mid-sentence as Asuka pulled herself up and held him from behind, resting her head on his right shoulder. Another sigh escaped his mouth but this one sounded more content than resigned.

"That was both the worst day and the best day of my life," Asuka said softly. "I was in shambles when I arrived at the heart of Instrumentality… my soul shattered as much as my body was. When you took me into your heart and helped me stitch myself back together again… it was the first time in my entire existence I felt… _real_ love. It wasn't simply admiration or idol worship… it was real caring. Without you I'd still be a fragmented soul existing beyond the periphery."

"I would never let that be your fate," Kaworu stated with finality.

"Then don't torture yourself with hate now," Asuka stated with just as much finality. "I let myself hate, and it tore me apart over a long hard year of fighting… and for many years before that. Touji, that baka, used to call me the Red Devil. Now I have the wisdom to know why he did. I won't let myself fall into that again."

"I'm glad to see I was of so much help."

"And I'm helping you now," Asuka replied. "They deserve pity, not hate."

"Can you be so forgiving if I told you they captured Hikari?"

Asuka looked surprised at that. "I didn't even know she was awakened."

"Rei is rescuing her, well, probably already did at this point."

"Rei?" Asuka questioned. "She barely knew Hikari during school."

"And yet, they are drawn to each other now. Rei's discovery of emotions when she returned from Instrumentality probably played a big role in that."

"I can't believe she turned les like that. And Hikari! You think you know a person!"

Kaworu chuckled at Asuka's exasperation.

"Well I hope they're happy with each other. Are you sure Rei was successful?"

"I am. I would have gotten a call from Rei by now if something went wrong, she's psychic after all."

Asuka nodded and clung a little tighter to Kaworu. "So what do we do in the meantime?" She asked with a slightly seductive tone to her voice as she ran her left pointer finger over his chest.

"As tempting as you are, my angel, you are not yet fully recovered. You need to rest."

Asuka whined a bit at that as she let go. Kaworu turned and helped her lay back down, only to get pulled down on top of Asuka.

"Are you sure I can't change your mind?"

Kaworu kissed her and Asuka held herself to him as desperately as she could. She could feel the warmth of his aura encapsulating her. Then she felt the pain in her stomach, it hit fast and hard causing her to let go of him and gasp.

Kaworu placed his right hand on her stomach gently. "I'm sure," he finally replied. "Almost all of the corruption is gone, but some lingers still, and it's preventing you from regenerating the damage completely.

Asuka finally calmed as the pain faded. "If I ever get my hands on that _gottverdammten_ bastard, I'll make him wish he never met me."

"You might get your chance," Kaworu noted. "Town scouts have seen more Mahkai in the areas to the northeast, the direction the last group that attacked the town came from. I'm pretty sure at this point that the one who tried to kill you is still alive and knows you are too."

"He mentioned he wanted my power. I think he's like a Nephilim Jackal."

"I don't doubt it," Kaworu noted with obvious aggression in his voice. "You must rest for now. I'll see about getting you some food."

Asuka nodded. "Thank you… _liebling_."

Kaworu nodded. He leaned over her and kissed her softly once more before leaving to secure more supplies and food for later.

Asuka pulled the blanket over her and shivered a bit. The damage done to her made her more susceptible to the cold than she usually was. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

* * *

**A Few Hours Later**

* * *

Kaworu stood upon the battlements looking over what was the battlefield. Charred bones and some smoldering areas still remained from the conflict that took place 3 days ago, a testament to Asuka's unbridled power.

"It seems Asuka can't fight a battle where she doesn't leave a smoldering ruin in her wake," he said aloud to no one.

"She saved us all," Daquan replied from a nearby perch. Kaworu looked in his direction.

"You admire her," he pointed out.

"I know she is yours," Daquan countered. "She's more of a protective mother to this town than anything else."

"Asuka… motherly… A year ago such a thing would have seemed laughable," Kaworu almost chuckled out.

Daquan looked over to Kaworu adjusting his crouched position slightly. "What was she like before The Fall?"

"The Fall… Instrumentality… Third Impact… So many names," Kaworu mused. "Before… 'The Fall'… Asuka was stubborn, self-absorbed, overconfident to the point of arrogance, and… most of all… a shattered child inside. She had a horrid childhood and was forced into a position where the weight of the world rested firmly upon her shoulders. She tried to shoulder that burden with confidence and force of will, but her experiences always served to hold her back from her true potential. It wasn't until The Fall that she finally healed, and became the noble, caring, and as you put it, motherly young lady she is today."

Daquan mused on that a moment. "It's amazing how many of us were different before The Fall. I was a stock broker in Beijing. I learned how to pull certain strings to get things my way. I became greedy and very much self-absorbed… I imagine much like Asuka. After The Fall, I changed so much… now I've become very generous, honorable, and all too eager to put myself in harm's way so that other's do not have to."

"It was Shinji's hope that Instrumentality… The Fall as you call it… would allow people to have true understanding and make the world a better place. But it seems only those that became Nephilim gained that insight, while humanity is stubbornly holding on to its destructive and fearful legacy."

"Shinji?" Daquan asked.

"Shinji is a boy I knew when I was in Japan. He has become a new god… perhaps _The_ new god."

"I see," he replied. "Then we who have been touched by God… by Him… should give him praise… for without him, we would not exist as we do now."

"You don't see this existence a burden?" Kaworu asked.

"Of course I don't… no more than you do. We are grateful for every day that has passed, and every day that is to come."

Kaworu smile gently. "Well, he's already had a positive effect on the world then."

* * *

**Tokyo 3 Underground**

* * *

Hikari finally began to awaken. Slowly, feeling began to return to her limbs. She felt warm but didn't know why. She tried to move and found she was being held in her sleep by another sleeping person. It took a few moments to realize the person was female, and a few more to realize it was Rei.

Her movement immediately woke Rei up. The blue haired angel sat up a little, looking down on Hikari as her eyes opened.

"Hikari," Rei said. "Are you with us now?"

"I fell… odd…" was all she could get out.

"Odd?"

Hikari began to sit up, holding the sheet to her chest as she realized she was sleeping in the nude for some reason she didn't want to contemplate.

"Wait…"

She was sleeping in the nude. Hikari suddenly jumped back away from Rei covering herself. Her face turned red as freshly picked radish. "Rei! What the hell are you trying to do?! I'm not looking to go that fast!"

Rei simply looked perplexed at her, and now that Hikari had all the sheets she saw Rei was completely naked as well.

"Oh, kami-sama! Did… did we do something last night?!"

"What are you talking about?" Rei looked are her confused.

"You're naked!"

"I always sleep like this," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But but but but but… but I was naked too!"

"You… don't sleep like that?"

"NO!" Hikari shouted.

"Oh," Rei replied.

"Oh? OH?! That's all you can say?!" Hikari demanded.

"I made a mistake. I apologize."

Hikari was absolutely flabbergasted that Rei was taking this so casually. "Do you even know the significance of two people sleeping naked together?"

"Yes, but all we were doing was sleeping. Why is that so terrible?"

"We were naked and in close proximity to each other!" Hikari pointed out.

"I was often naked and in close proximity to Asuka during the angel wars. It was a requirement of using the same locker room."

"But this isn't a locker room!" Hikari protested.

"I'm very sorry, Hikari," Rei apologized. "I do not see the difference."

Hikari sighed.

"I love you," Rei said with finality. "And I know you at least feel something for me. But it does not make sense to use western idealized privacy rules just because I have begun courting you."

Hikari made an exasperated sound. "I wish you wouldn't put it like that… it's already weird enough."

"I would never do something to you without your permission. Besides, I am still uncertain as to how two girls make love as my only knowledge of sex has been clinical texts and health class, which did not cover homosexuality between girls."

"Please stop saying words!" Hikari pleaded; her face was unable to turn any redder.

Rei nodded. "Again, I am sorry. My social skills are not what they should be." She stood up and as much as Hikari tried to avert her eyes, she couldn't help but admire Rei's perfectly shaped bum. "I have never been very adept at living."

The conversation broke Hikari's trance and she looked towards Rei's face which was facing partly away from her. "Why is that?"

Rei turned towards her. "My purpose when I was created was to die to bring about Instrumentality. I was to serve as a link between Gendo Ikari and the event, allowing him to control it so he could bring his wife back from the dead."

Hikari looked saddened at the admission. "That's terrible." Little by little Rei was revealing everything to Hikari, and she knew she only had to be patient.

"As a result of that, I was forced to take drugs every day that dulled my senses and left me emotionally atrophied. Now that I have been given a new existence thanks to Shinji, I am able to feel everything at its full strength, and am finally learning to express emotions the way humans are supposed to."

"So you're socially stunted," Hikari concluded. "I guess I can see how that would be a problem." She looked down at herself, took a deep breath and threw off the sheets.

"What are you doing?" Rei asked, noticing that Hikari was blushing again, but not even attempting to hide her body from Rei. She noticed her gentle curves and that she had freckles in places other than her face. Rei wondered why she hadn't noticed that before.

"Compromising with you," Hikari replied. "I may be uncomfortable being naked around others, but you suffer with social interactivity issues on a daily basis. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't try to help you feel more comfortable? So… for now on, I will share your bed and I will sleep as you do.

"You do not have to share my inadequacies."

"I want to," Hikari stated with finality, her blush fading. "Because the truth is that no one is completely well adjusted… and we all have situations we face occasionally that make us uncomfortable. It's because we as a race cannot truly understand each other like we could when we were as one."

"When our AT Fields were gone," Rei noted. "That is human nature isn't it? We struggle our entire lives to try to gain understanding of just one other soul that we think we can relate to, but we will never reach that full level of understanding."

"I know Nephilim can," Hikari noted, blushing slightly. "I've heard it done… a fusing of souls."

"We will discuss that later, when and if we both become ready for that."

Hikari walked towards Rei. "Agreed." Nervously, she stepped into Rei's comfort zone and wrapped her arms around her body, tracing her fingertips up her spine to her shoulder blades and laying her head on her right shoulder. She felt their bodies come together and tried to ignore the feeling of skin rubbing against her nipples, concentrating only on holding someone and being held in return. Rei mirrored the gesture and took in the warmth from Hikari as they both simultaneously let out a content sigh.

"This is nice," Hikari noted, now that the embarrassment was fading.

"It is very agreeable," Rei replied.

"I just remembered something," Hikari said as she pushed back off of Rei. "Bastion was at my house!"

"Your sisters are here and they are safe," Rei told her, watching Hikari relax a bit.

"Why does he want them?"

"I do not know," Rei admitted. "We should get dressed; they will want to see you now that you are awake."

* * *

_The sewers belch me up,_

_The heavens spit me out_

_From ethers tragic I am born again!_

_And I am with you now,_

_Inside your world of wow,_

_To move in desires made of deadly pretend,_

_Till the end times begin_

_-The Smashing Pumpkins, The End is the Beginning is the End_


	7. The Shepherd

_14 November 2015: Beijing is besieged by mutated multi-armed humanoids designated "Makhai". Though they are fought off by two Nephilim, the saviors were ostracized just the same. The Nephilim escaped into the wilderness. Later it is discovered that the Makhai were behind the destruction of Berlin. _

_22 November 2015: First known Nephilim is tracked to Kyoto by the JSSDF. No action is taken for now, but the government still wishes to capture him for study. He is put under surveillance. It is revealed that his identity is Kensuke Aida. _

_8 Feburary 2016: Osaka falls to a monster assault lead by Makhai warriors. The few survivors that manage to escape the chaos describe it as "hell on earth"._

* * *

**VII: The Shepherd**

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Japan: 16 Hours Later**

* * *

The Kyoto massacre went down in history as one of the saddest moments since Third Impact. Seven Nephilim lost their lives in a demonstration in the city lead by the first Nephilim some called "The Shepherd". Only a few would know him for whom he really was before the impact.

His name was Kensuke Aida, a former military otaku and student at Tokyo-3 Junior High School. His nerdy exterior, now slightly older than it once was, makes him look like a future priest in many ways. Now he was living up to that expectation.

Today, for the first time in many months, he has returned to Tokyo-3. His appearance signaled the JSSDF and they were already on route with helicopters and ground vehicles to cut him off and capture him. But they didn't know just how powerful he had become.

As he traveled up the main road though the center of town, Nephilim that have been hiding in plain sight took notice. He was wearing a priest's garb though he did not wear the formal vest and wraps, nor did he carry any books. He had a rosary on his belt hanging from the right side.

"Why do the heathen's rage?" Kensuke spoke as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "The kings of the earth set themselves. The rulers take counsel together against The Lord, and against his anointed saying, 'Let us break their bonds and cast their cords away'. He that sits in paradise shall laugh: He shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them his sore displeasure."

The helicopters began to move in, the sounds of the blades cutting the air becoming more pronounced. From behind and in front more military vehicles began to approach, making sure there would be no escape this time.

Kensuke continued to speak as if nothing were happening, and despite the noise from the vehicles, all could hear him. "I set my king upon the holy hill of Zion. I shall decree: the Lord hath said unto me, 'Thou art my son! This day I have begotten thee'. "

He stopped walking in the middle of the road. Helicopters circled, men with guns took aim and many held their breath as it appeared that The Shepherd had finally been captured. And yet he still calmly continued to recite verse.

"Ask of me, and I shall give the heathen for thy inheritance, and for thy possession, the ends of the earth. Thou shall break them with a rod of iron, thou shall dash them in pieces like a potters vessel. Be wise now therefore ye kings, be admonished ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled just a little."

"Shepherd!" came a voice over a bullhorn. "Surrender at once!"

"I have defied your conventions before," Kensuke spoke. "I am here for my people. I am here because He has demanded I establish this city as a sanctuary for all of His people. He has blessed me with the power to enforce His will upon the earth. Only the faithful shall remain! I cast my burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain me. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved, not even by the likes of you heathens."

Kensuke put his hands together in front of him as if to pray as he bowed his head he sensed the darts flying from nearby snipers… they would never reach him. To the shock of onlookers, the darts vaporized as they approached him.

"How is he doing that?!" one of the soldiers yelled. "Those were crafted of anti-Nephilim grade metal! He's a monster! Open fire!"

Their guns resounded though the streets but their bullets were designed to deal with humans who might have interfered. As the Sargent tried to get his men under control Kensuke simply stepped forward and produced a lance in his right hand which seemed to form from nothing. Bullets sparked off of his AT Field as he held the lance like a javelin, took a few steps forward, and launched it at the nearest helicopter. It tore through the machine from nose to tail causing it to collapse inward into nothingness, taking the men on board with it. His hand went back to his side and a new Lance formed in it.

As the helicopters tried to get distance he launched another lance with little effort, destroying another one. He crossed his arms in front of him as the men started to reload their guns and threw his arms out to his sides. The men closest to him suddenly flew in half spilling blood across the ground. The vehicles they stood near also split apart, seemingly cut by invisible blades. Behind Kensuke, a trio of metal crosses, intricately designed and edged like swords seemed to phase in, the one directly behind him floating a little higher than the other two. In reality, they didn't so much phase in but slow down enough to be seen now.

"Behold!" Kensuke called out raising his hands dramatically like a conductor in the orchestra of righteous fury. "Shinji-sama is my ally! He is with they who uphold my soul! He shall reward evil unto my enemies: cut them off in thy truth!" He suddenly leaned forward throwing his arms back out in a flourish, and the bladed crosses behind him spin like massive saws, launching forward in an arc of death. More trucks split in half before exploding, sending men flying from the concussion. Others who tried to run were split in half from crown to crotch or at an angle midway.

As this happened he continued to preach. "I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good!" His hands went back to his sides, a pair of silvery katana formed in his hands, held in reverse grips. "For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon my enemies."

Armor covered his body from feet to head in pure silvery white. A cloak flowed out from behind but no wings. In a flash he launched forward only stopping briefly after each killing blow to seemingly slide from target to target. He kicked one man hard enough to fly back 10 meters into an APC and still had enough force to roll the vehicle. Every bone in his body was shattered and several organs ruptured on impact, sealing the man's fate. Then, Kensuke would stop briefly to direct the blades again as they continued their arc of death.

Seeing the power at his fingertips, the Nephilim that watched were suddenly filled with resolve and courage. They took to the streets and waylaid the reinforcements using their powers (if they had any) and whatever improvised weapons they could get (if they had no powers). Within minutes, the streets of Tokyo-3 had become a warzone as the JSSDF were being routed out of the city by both Kensuke's display of power, and the sheer overwhelming determination of the Nephilim.

Kensuke launched himself into the air, slamming into a helicopter. He sliced it opened and killed its occupants before kicking off of it and sending the soon to be flaming wreckage into more JSSDF reinforcements trying to enter the battle zone.

Suddenly, more Nephilim joined the fray as the occupants of the hidden underground began to emerge into the light to join their brethren. These additional reinforcements spelled doom for the remaining JSSDF forces in the city. Within an hour of their arrival, they had been completely routed, and the city was now in the hands of the Nephilim.

Kensuke landed, dismissing his weapons and armor. The Nephilim surrounded him as he walked towards the center of the city, moving with him. Many calling him "Master" as Jesus was once called when He walked the world.

"I am not your master," Kensuke said as he pushed his glasses up. "I am simply the instrument of His will. This city is now holy ground! Let us build our defenses and make it a safe haven for all of our kind, as well as they who would join us in peace."

* * *

**Division-9 HQ: That Moment**

* * *

Bastion Kane watched the events on his TV, and was anything but pleased. His HQ sat right next door to an area the Nephilim now claimed was holy ground. He knew that if he couldn't get the Horaki's soon, he would never get an easier chance, and soon there would be an all-out attack against this complex.

"The first Nephilim," he said with clear anger in his voice. Two of his men nearby took note of the aggression and swallowed nervously. "They call him the Shepherd. His real name is Aida Kensuke. He was a nerd in Junior Highschool, friends with a jock named Suzahara Touji, and a close friend of one Ikari Shinji." Bastion stood up. "Kensuke was never considered a real threat during the war, never even considered as a pilot despite his desire to be one. He was a meddler, nothing more, and what damage he could do was virtually nonexistent. Now look at him. He wasn't even this powerful during the Kyoto Incident! If we knew now what we knew then, we would have had him killed before the impact."

"His power is incredible, Kane-sama," one of the men noted.

"Indeed… his AT Field appears to be fortified with some kind of plasma field making even our faux-Longinus weapons useless against him. Perhaps if they are dense enough to survive the heat they may penetrate the field. But he also appears to have greatly enhanced strength and speed, as well as the ability to negate gravity allowing him to fly despite not having any wings of his own. And I'd love to know precisely how he is able to summon those blades and the proxy lances he used to implode two of the JSSDF's helicopters. He was barely a TL3 during the Kyoto Incident. Now he's easily an 8 or 9."

"So what do we do now?"

"We're going to organize a strike into Tokyo-3 before the Nephilim have a chance to establish their defenses. I want to Horaki's, and if possible Ayanami as well. But where in the nine hells did all those fuckers come from? There couldn't have been _that _many Nephilim in the city!"

* * *

**Langxi, China: One Hour Later**

* * *

Asuka sat up slowly, still feeling a pull in her stomach. Kaworu was sitting on the bed in his usual spot, though he looked concerned.

"What is it?" Asuka asked in a soft voice.

"The Shepherd has returned," Kaworu replied. "He has declared Tokyo-3 to be holy ground. I just received word that the Nephilim in the underground are on the surface now preparing the city for another potential JSSDF offensive."

Asuka looked worried. "Things could get out of hand. Why has the Shepherd come back?"

"He claims Shinji-sama told him to come and make Tokyo-3 the new Zion."

Asuka thought about that a moment. "It would make sense. It is the closest city to the Black Moon, and therefore… paradise."

"Do you know who the Shepherd is?" Kaworu asked her.

"No," she honestly replied. "I only know he demonstrated along with the Nephilim in Kyoto before the massacre, and that he's thought to be the first Nephilim discovered.

"His name is Kensuke Aida."

"What?! That stooge?!"

"He was one of the people closest to Shinji during the angel wars. In a way, it's only fitting that he was chosen to be his voice. He has become quite powerful I am told."

Asuka lay back down. "Why not you? You were closer in the end."

Kaworu chuckled softly. "But in the end, I was basically his Judas Iscariot. Only instead of getting my 30 pieces of silver, I received death."

"But angels don't die," Asuka pointed out.

"No… Angels don't truly die."

He stood up. "If The Shepherd was told to establish Tokyo-3 as a holy city, then perhaps Shinji is done building his strength and preparing himself for what needs to happen. He created this world and chaos resulted, but he is not done yet."

"God's can't directly interfere can they?"

"They can but usually don't," Kaworu replied. "But they usually control events in other ways, like bestowing power, inspiring their faithful, and even giving individuals a higher calling. Kensuke is playing his role, I'm sure we will have our parts to play soon enough." He looked at her. "We need to get you better, and get this Makhai situation sorted out, and quickly. We will be needed soon."

* * *

_Is it bright where you are?_

_Have the people changed?_

_Does it make you happy? You're so strange…_

_And in your darkest hour,_

_I hold secret's flame_

_We can watch the world devoured in its pain_

_Strange…_


End file.
